The area where three
of the epic's principal characters—the god-king Rama, his wife Sita, and his
brother Lakshmana—live throughout most of their fourteen-year forest exile in
the Ramayana, the earlier of the two great Indian epics.
Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka, kidnaps Sita from this
location.
Although the events of the Ramayana cannot be precisely
placed, a town called Panchavati outside of Nasik, Maharashtra, is associated
with the fabled setting.
